


Tribulation

by maithcop



Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Dreams and Nightmares, Gen, Halloween, tags and warnings will update with future chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-28 06:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16236170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maithcop/pseuds/maithcop
Summary: When nightmares began plaguing the citizens of Bricksburg, it's up to the Master Builders and cops to go into everyone's dreams to find the culprit behind it and put a stop to it before Halloween comes around. Just to let everyone have a good night's sleep.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey so here's a last minute Halloween fic!! This is the first fic I'm doing where I post chapters as I write them, so it's going to be pretty new to me to try and keep updates consistent. I honestly expect this fic to end up going a little bit in November as well, so if that happens, I'm extremely sorry, but I'll try and keep updates in October as much as I can. Have fun reading!!

  It all started when Emmet sat down to talk with Wyldstyle one morning. It had been the sixth time that week he had been jarred awake from his sleep due to some nightmare he couldn’t explain. He was starting to lose sleep and it was beginning to hinder his work at the construction site, which he didn’t exactly enjoy very much. Good news was for Emmet, it was one of his days off, the bad news… well, he was scared awake and didn’t get any more sleep than he had been.

  “Have you been having these weird nightmares?” Emmet began, taking a bite from his toast.

  Wyldstyle sipped from her coffee. “Aren’t all nightmares kinda weird?”

  Emmet swallowed. “No… I mean… more than usual.”

  Wyldstyle placed down her mug. “I guess so? They’ve been happening more frequently, if that’s what you mean.”

  The construction worker took a bite from his. “I think. This is the sixth night in a row, Lucy, and I don’t usually have nightmares, if at all.”

  “That’s… odd. Even for you.” Before Emmet could get in a ‘Hey!’, Wyldstyle cut him off. “Do you think we should ask Vitruvius about this?” 

  Emmet took another bite from his toast. Mouth full, he responded, “If you think he could help.”

  “Are you sure you’re not just having normal nightmares, Emmet?” Wyldstyle asked, picking her mug back up and drinking from it.

  “I don’t know. I think it would be best to at least make sure? If that’s okay.” 

 

  Vitruvius’ form sat in their living room, listening to the couple describe the dreams they’ve been having. He gave a few nods and ‘mm-hm’s as he listened.

_  “Interesting. But you’re not the first people that have reported these strange dreams to me.” _ Vitruvius said, floating up to walk on the ceiling. 

  “We’re not?” Emmet and Wyld said in unison. 

  Still on the ceiling, Vitruvius continued.  _ “Nope. Benny and Unikitty called for me as well. I’ve been busy busy busy.” _

  “I actually think I remember hearing Gail or Harry talking on the site the other day?” Emmet started. “Something about having nightmares every night as well. Do you think this is happening all over Bricksburg?”   
  Wyldstyle scoffed. “Please, Emmet, this is probably some big coincidence.”

_ “No… I’ve seen this before. What month is it again?” _

  “October.” Emmet stated.

_ “Halloween is drawing near. If I’m correct, that means they’re growing stronger.” _

  “What’s growing stronger?” Wyldstyle asked.

_ “Not a what, but a who. Several whos actually. Evil spirits that feed on others’ fear. By the looks of it, their current leader must be running around causing all this nightmare trouble. Probably in an attempt for some fast food.”  _ Vitruvius explained to the couple.

  “How are we supposed to stop them?” Emmet asked.

_ “Usually, you can’t.  _ Usually.  _ You need to find someone who can conquer their greatest fear long enough for the spirit to think whoever they’re haunting isn’t worth it.” _

__ “We need to get  _ everyone _ in Bricksburg to conquer their greatest fear?!” Wyldstyle asked to clarify.

_ “Oh! No, no, just one person at least. Then the spirit should be on their way. The only way to defeat it is either by giving it nothing to offer or wait until Halloween is over. And something tells me you’d rather not deal with nightmares for an entire month straight.”  _ Vitruvius said.

  Wyldstyle looked to Emmet and then back to Vitruvius. “That would be preferred, yeah.”

  “Who do we need to get to help then?” Emmet asked.

_ “Anyone you think is a willing participant to not get the pants scared off of them.” _

 

  Emmet and Wyldstyle knocked on the door, Benny, Unikitty, and Vitruvius standing (or floating in Benny’s and Vitruvius’ case) next to the couple and waiting for a response.

  Soon, a voice came from the other side of the door. A very… grumpy sounding voice. “Who’s at the door?!”

  “It’s Emmet and Lucy!” Emmet shouted. “We’re here with Benny, Unikitty, and Vitruvius. We need to talk to you guys!”

  Slowly, the door opened, and familiar aviators came into view. Bad Cop was standing there, waiting for an answer in their pajamas. They must’ve just gotten out of bed. “What do all of you want? And make it quick, it’s our day off.” 

  “It’s probably better if we come inside to explain,” Unikitty said from behind the couple.

 

  Good Cop invited the group inside and offered some hot cocoa. Much better than coffee in the mornings, he always said. Everyone had been scattered around the living room, sitting either in the recliner, on the couch, on the floor, or on the ceiling. “So, let us get this straight. The entirety of Bricksburg has been plagued with nightmares for several nights straight, and it’s up to us to help stop them? Why is that?” Good Cop asked.

  Wyldstyle, who turned down the hot cocoa, much to Good Cop’s confusion, explained, “We need someone who can convince the spirit that there’s no one here for them to feed off of. You two are the only ones we could think of who’s not afraid of anything.”    
  Good Cop blushed a bit at the… what he hoped was a compliment. 

  Benny, who was upside down on the couch, said, “You guys took down Business’ forces with your bare hands and a metal chair! You’re super brave!”

  Good Cop blushed a bit harder at the claim he didn’t exactly believe. “Wait, is this gonna involve any Master Builder mind voodoo magic?”

  “Just a little bit, but it should be fine.” Unikitty said.

  The cop gulped at that. Neither of them particularly liked the Master Builders going into their mind.

  “C’mon, cops, we need to get rid of this spirit or whatever it is so we don’t have to deal with this all month. According to Vitruvius, it’s only going to get stronger as Halloween grows near. Will you help us out?” Emmet pleaded.

  Good Cop looked down at his hands in his lap. Honestly, he wasn’t even sure how much help he could provide. Their anxiety had spiked in the past week due to the nightmares they’ve been getting as well. Good Cop sighed. They may as well try.

  “Just tell us what we need to do.”


	2. Chapter 1: Angrophobia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angrophobia: Fear of anger, or being angry.
> 
> The Master Builders start to go into the cops' dreamscapes to investigate who would be behind this, but something goes wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used Angrophobia as the chapter title in this context because really there's not a name for a fear of hatred in the world or anything, so I had to use the next best thing, whoops.
> 
> I hope everybody knows I'm not proofreading or editing before these go up

The gang sat together on the floor, Good Cop handing out blankets. “It’s easier to fall asleep if you’re comfy,” he explained. The cop soon joined the three of them (excluding Vitruvius and Wyld) on the floor, wrapping himself up in his own blanket.

  “Okay,” Wyldstyle started, “Vitruvius and I are gonna hang out here in case anything goes wrong. We just need all of you to go to sleep and we can send Emmet, Benny, and Unikitty into the cops’ dreams. Got it?”

  “Are we, uh, going to be there for this? I feel like we need to be in our mind to keep some certain someones out of certain somethings.” Bad Cop said, eyeing Benny and Unikitty in particular.

  “Of course, after all, it’ll be your dreams, you kinda have to be there for those.” Wyldstyle said.

  This put Bad Cop at ease. A little. He still didn’t like how their mind was going to be invaded by anyone other than them.

_ “Get to sleep you five, we need to get started as soon as possible.”  _ Vitruvius instructed.

  The group did as they were told, the last thing Bad Cop remembers hearing being odd chanting from Wyldstyle and Vitruvius.

 

  Bad Cop opened his eyes to find himself… somewhere that wasn’t their house. It was dark, and he couldn’t see much else other than a little bit of color. He reached back in his mind for Good Cop to see if he was awake only to find…

  He wasn’t there. 

  Benny, Unikitty, and Emmet eventually materialized in the mindspace as Bad Cop started to panic. “Where’s Good Cop?! What did you do?!” He shouted.

  Unikitty cocked their head. “Is he not with you?”

  “Well, he’s not in my  _ head _ , that’s for sure!”

  A sleepy voice came from somewhere behind Bad Cop. “Mmm, Bad, what’s with all the yelling?” Bad Cop turned around to see Good Cop laying on the ground. Oh, thank goodness. “B, I’m trying to sleep.” Good Cop yawned. The other cop held his chest, glad to see his brother was okay.

  “Well, wake up, sleepy head,” Benny said, “We got work to do, c’mon.”

  Emmet looked around. “This is the cops’ dreamscape? But it’s so… pink.”

  “Last we checked, our headspace had a house.” Bad Cop mentioned.

  “Dreamscapes and headspaces-slash-mindspaces are different, Bad Cop,” Unikitty said, “Dreamscapes are where you go to dream. They can manifest as  _ anything! _ ” They threw up their front paws for emphasis.

  “I don’t remember it ever being  _ pink _ .” 

  Suddenly, as if a switch had flipped, all the lights in the dreamscape flickered on. Several other colors came into view and it almost looked like… 

  “Old Cloud Cuckooland?” Unikitty said, “OH! I think this is  _ my _ dreamscape! Whoops!” They giggled.

 

  “Hey, uh, Vitruvius, I think I might have sent them into the wrong dreamscape,” Wyldstyle said, placing a hand over the sleeping cops’ forehead and then Unikitty’s, minding the horn.

  Vitruvius just shrugged.  _ “I hope they know they have to get through their dream first, then. _ ”

  Wyldstyle adjusted Emmet’s blanket where he was leaning against Benny.

 

  “I end up dreaming about Old CCL a lot!” Unikitty explained. Bad Cop felt guilt hit him hard, then the feeling of Good Cop grabbing his hand. “I guess it happens when you grow up somewhere for your whole life.”

  “So if this is Unikitty’s dreamscape, what do we do?” Emmet asked. “How do we tell Lucy we got the wrong one?” 

  “I guess we just go through like normal.” Benny suggested. “Unikitty can’t be scared of  _ that _ much stuff, they’re too positive for that.”

  And right as Benny said that, Wyldstyle had shown up next to him. “Wyldstyle! There you are! You can get us out of here and into the cops’ dreams!” Wyldstyle said nothing. “Wyldstyle?” Benny floated over to where Wyldstyle had been ignoring him. “Wyldstyle, can you not hear me?”

  Wyldstyle just grumbled, “Yeah! I can hear you! Shut up and leave me alone, you stupid astronaut.”

  “Uh, oh.” Unikitty said.

  Benny stood in shock. “What?”

  “I said you’re annoying me! Leave me alone.” She walked off without another word, off of the land of CCL, and into a dream-like Bricksburg. Good Cop let go of Bad Cop’s hand and went over to hold Benny’s to comfort him. He didn’t move. Emmet, Unikitty, and Bad Cop went running after Wyldstyle.

  “Wyldstyle’s never said I was annoying.” Benny whispered. 

  Good Cop ran a thumb over the spaceman’s knuckles, “It’s okay, Benny. Maybe it’s part of Unikitty’s dream?” 

  “I hope so.” Benny and Good Cop started walking towards Bricksburg and catch up with the others.

 

  When they arrived to the city, it was… dark… and dreary, much more than anyone would expect from one of  _ Unikitty’s  _ dreams. The city had been in ruins and many people weren’t out on the streets. Those who were, looked as though they were huddled together and plotting something. Unikitty stepped with caution. Benny noticed their unease, but decided not to comment on it. 

  Wyldstyle moved over to talk to the group that was huddled together down the street. Bad Cop motioned for everyone to stay back while he went to investigate. When he got closer, he couldn’t believe what he saw. Everyone’s faces were contorted in anger, in such a way it was almost as if they were born that way. Even Wyldstyle. They all turned around to face Bad Cop, and he gasped at the sudden movement.

  “Well, look, if it isn’t the stupid two-faced cop.”   
  “What a freak.”   
  “Where’s his good side, isn’t he the evil side?”   
  “Nice Jekyll and Hyde costume.”

  Bad Cop’s chest tightened at… insults he hasn’t heard in a long time. Unikitty stepped up and defended the cop. “Leave him alone! He hasn’t done anything wrong! You’re not being very nice!!” They shouted, their fur flaring a red color. The figures just laughed, and Wyldstyle… didn’t look like herself anymore. She started to take on an appearance closer to the others. 

  ‘Wyldstyle’ kneeled down in front of Unikitty, “Like we’ll really listen to a stupid rainbow cat. Why don’t you go make your cupcakes or something, runt.”

  Good Cop, Benny, and Emmet stayed close to each other as they were watching these events unfold. The figures didn’t take too kindly to this, though, moving over to heckle the trio.

  “Look at me! I’m  _ Good Cop _ ! I’m so soft and nice to everyone I meet because I’m the nice one! Would you like me to make you some donuts?” 

  “Honestly, this spaceman should’ve died up there in space, and for good reason too. He has no reason to be down here on Earth.”   
  “What makes  _ you _ so special, huh, Emmet? You’re just a stupid construction worker that got caught up in something you didn’t ask for. You’re not special, you’re worthless!!!”

  “ _ HEY! _ ” Unikitty screamed from across the street at the gang. When the figures turned towards her, suddenly the ground opened up and the five of them fell through into nothingness.

 

  Wyldstyle had been figuring out with Vitruvius to get them into the right dreamscape. “Do you think I could just chant the same thing, and they’d be set?” Vitruvius’ form just shrugged and Wyldstyle groaned. “You’re supposed to know this stuff.”

_ “You can give it a try, you know.” _

  “But what if it messes something up?” Wyldstyle looked at Unikitty and Benny’s sleeping bodies, the only ones that were stirring in their sleep. Vitruvius said nothing. 

  Wyldstyle began to chant again.

  Good Cop was the one to land first, then Bad Cop aside him, Emmet on top of Bad Cop, and Unikitty on top of Good Cop. Benny gently floated down. They all groaned as they sat up. “Where are we now?” Bad Cop asked, rubbing his back. 

  “I have no idea…” Good Cop said, “I don’t recognize any of this. If Unikitty’s still dreaming about places, then I’ve got nothing.”

  Screams and police sirens were heard in the distance. All five of them turned towards the commotion. Buildings were falling and smoke clouded the air. An all too familiar voice pierced the noise and Bad Cop felt his heart hit his stomach at the realization of where they were.

_ “Take the Master Builders prisoner!!!” _

  That was him, that was  _ his _ voice. This was when Bad Cop and his forces raided CCL. 

  This was the Fall of Cloud Cuckooland.

  Suddenly, next to them, a portal of sorts opened up, and Wyldstyle was there, motioning for them to jump in. The real Wyldstyle they hoped. “C’mon! Let’s go!” She shouted. They did as they were told, but Bad Cop had been frozen to the spot.

  “B! Come on, we gotta go!” Good Cop shouted after him. After no response, he groaned and pulled his brother by the arm.


End file.
